SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., Nov. 22, 2016—Less than a week ago, the news about resort openings was a little bleak, with only a handful of areas able to start their season and several others postponing until winter weather showed up. Since then, temps have dropped, snow guns have fired up, and natural snow has accumulated at mountain resorts from coast to coast. For a majority of the continent, winter has arrived.

SAM Magazine—Park City, Utah, Nov. 22, 2016)—Snowsports Industries America just released its annual Snow Sports Market Intelligence Report, detailing the performance of snow sports-related retail sales in North America.

SAM Magazine—Denver, Nov. 18, 2016— As of Oct. 31, advance reservations are up 6.6 percent and revenues are up 13.3 percent for the six months that includes arrivals from November through May compared to the same time last year, according to research firm DestiMetrics. Cooler weather and stories of snow falling in the mountains have traditionally been drivers for winter vacation bookings, but the absence of those drivers during a mild autumn didn’t negatively affected bookings at western mountain destinations for the 2016-17 winter season.

SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., Nov. 17, 2016—A handful of North American ski areas plan to open in the next couple days, but winter weather remains elusive for much of the continent. Even resorts that still list tomorrow as their opening day haven’t published details about what will be open and when, which is a testament to the marginal conditions many are experiencing.

SAM Magazine—Boston, Mass., Nov. 16, 2016—Thousands of snowsports enthusiasts nationwide have attended a handful of pre-season ski shows in search of great deals, info on what’s new, and of course, stickers.

SAM Magazine—Boston, Mass., Nov. 15, 2016—The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame class of 2016 includes 10 individuals who have all had a major impact on the industry.

Sam Magazine—Copper Mountain, Colo., Nov. 11, 2016—In another partnership between two unaffiliated resorts, Powder Mountain in Utah and Copper Mountain in Colorado are offering three free days of lift access to each other’s season passholders. This reciprocal benefit comes at no extra cost.

SAM Magazine—Salt Lake City, Utah, Nov. 11, 2016—The retail buying shows, which have gone through some schedule changes lately, are poised for more. The Outdoor Retailer (OR) winter and summer shows will move to new dates in 2018, and each show will split into “early” and “late” shows.

Welcome to the November edition of Snow People, our monthly roundup of happenings to prominent ski industry and supplier personnel.

SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., Nov. 9, 2016—At the beginning of this week, nearly ten more North American ski areas—from Alberta, Canada, to New Mexico—had planned to open for the season on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday. Now, only two remain—Loveland, Colo., and Mammoth, Calif.

SAM Magazine—Dover, Vt., Nov. 4, 2016—When Arapahoe Basin opened for the season on Oct. 21, it was cold and snowy in many parts of the country. It seems that more ski areas were bound to also open shortly after. Right? Not if Ma Nature had anything to say about it. Which she did.

SAM Magazine—Seattle, Wash., Nov. 3, 2016—For the last few months, political advertisements have flooded the media, taking up most of the advertising inventory at premium rates. An unusual victim of this ad frenzy was the Ski Dazzle Seattle Ski and Snowboard Show, which was cancelled because the promoters couldn’t afford spots on TV, radio, and in newspapers. The event was scheduled for Nov. 5 and 6.

SAM Magazine—Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 3, 2016—CNL Lifestyle Properties has entered into a purchase and sale agreement for its portfolio of waterparks, amusement parks and small family entertainment centers, along with its 15 ski resorts.

SAM Magazine—Wildwood, Mo., Nov. 3, 2016—Peak Resorts, has completed its previously announced private placement of its Series A cumulative convertible preferred stock and warrants to purchase common stock to CAP 1 LLC, a family client of Summer Road LLC.

SAM Magazine—Rangeley, Maine, Oct. 27, 2016—The ongoing ownership conundrum of Saddleback Mountain, Maine’s third-largest ski area, could be coming to an end. A group of local business owners and Saddleback season passholders have formed Saddleback Community Mountain Resort LLC, with the intention of purchasing the ski area from the Berry family and turn it into a community owned non-profit enterprise.